


DoS Crossover Forum One Shots and Word Vomits

by MathIsMagic



Series: DoS Crossover Fic [1]
Category: Dreaming of Sunshine, Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen, Naruto
Genre: Avatar: The Last Airbender - Freeform, Avengers - Freeform, Book Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen - Freeform, FullMetal Alchemist - Freeform, Game of Thrones - Freeform, Gen, Harry Potter - Freeform, Hunger Games, Marvel Comics - Freeform, Not Canon Compliant - The Heroes of Olympus, Star Wars - Freeform, Star Wars: the Clone Wars - Freeform, but I'm not an ass tagging all the crossover fandoms and cheating the tag system, crossovers, fandoms include but are not limited to, mcu - Freeform, twilight - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-06-01 01:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 17,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15131969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MathIsMagic/pseuds/MathIsMagic
Summary: A collection of the fics I've posted on the Dreaming of Sunshine Crossover Forum that are standalones, word vomits, or otherwise not deserving of their own separate fic.





	1. PJO/HoO: Demigod Daughter of Hades!Shikako Wordvomit

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Dreaming of Sunshine](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/53648) by Silver Queen. 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DaughterofHades!Shikako at Camp Half Blood. Word vomit in response to a prompt on the forums, I believe.

Like, she's a daughter of Hades, but she treats everyone like family because they're her cousins (or close enough) and kind of becomes a leader-figure to the camp, the way Luke/Annabeth/Percy are at various times. (I haven't wuite nailed down her age, but sometimes even picture her welcoming Luke, Thalia and Annabeth and keeping Thalia from being turned into a tree and Luke turning evil. I like the scene of it, but I don't really like it in the long run, because it's kinda too fix-y and sort of usurps Percy, so she probably should be younger than him). Maybe she sense that the di Angelos are her half-Siblings, maybe she's just friendly to them because they're family regardless. Either way, Nico looks up to her to begin with, and they get even closer once they find out/confirm she's his big sister. She's so friendly and clever so she gets accepted at Camp, which paves the way for him. He has her to comfort him when Bianca dies (We're Demigods. She's not gone. Not really.) and to help him understand that it's not Percy's fault. He probably still decides to wander around, because that feel like it's his nature, but now he has someone to come back to, and to confide in. Maybe even about his crush. I think it would be a weight off of him. She can help him work on his powers, at least shadow traveling.

Of course, in the background, she's kicking all kinds of ass, and basically keeping things together at Camp Half Blood while every quest Percy touches falls apart ("Lucky Sevens... I wasn't even  _involved_ this time. Is it contagious?" campers hear her mutter as she shakes her head and heals him up after yet another quest/battle/school day goes wrong.) She fights when Hades wants her in the Underworld, safe and out of the final battle. "Like Hell!" She says, not even meaning the pun, and joins the battle. Nico free's Percy to take on the burden of the prophecy (because Percy's his crush. Tabitha is his  _sister.)_ and has the leverage to get Hades and his armies to fight sooner. The demigods take fewer losses than in canon, by far. They celebrate. Percy's deal means Tabitha finally has a real place to stay. She makes sure the cabin is beautiful, and between her and their victory, Nico's actually kind of proud to be a son of Hades.

He keeps wandering, in both the moral and under worlds. He finds anther sister, helps her escape Asphodel. It takes them a while to end up at Camp Jupiter, so Nico gets to be the mentor, for once. He helps his new sister settle in, accepts the title of ambassador, and heads to Camp Half Blood to tell Tabitha about his discoveries. He finds that he can't. God's wills are tricky, and it was not his place to say anything yet.

They only get 6 months of peace and happiness before she vanishes. Percy and Annabeth keep each other together, if only barely, but the campers are still frantic to kind their beloved cousin. Nico calls in every favor he's owed, follows every lead, wanders farther and leans on his connections and still can't find her.  An amnesiac Jason, shows up and gets dragged on a quest, and tells campers about Camp Jupiter. Nico wonders if he'll be able to tell Tabitha, now, when she gets back, because she will be back. (She's not dead. He would know.  _He would know.)_

Still, Jason's appearance is the best hint they've gotten, and Nico wanders enough that no one cares when he disappears again. He checks in at Camp Jupiter often, though he can't stay without raising suspicions. He still follows other leads, but never as far anymore. He's lost so many sisters, he has to keep reassuring himself that Hazel is okay. Plus, something niggles at him that Camp Jupiter is the key. 

He's right. He’s at the Temple of Pluto there when Hazelle calls out for him to come meet Tabitha. His heart soars when he turns and sees that it really is her, the smile already building on his face, when she sticks out her hand and says, “It’s nice to meet you. My names’ Tabitha Hartley.”

The smile slides right off of his face and his heart smashes to the ground. He opens his mouth to explain… and the words stick in his throat. He can’t do more than choke out some general platitudes and well-wishes.

He’s never hated the Gods this much before.

He’s not managed away around the block by the time his sisters are leaving on their quest, but he he’s able to tell Hazelle, “Take care of her, okay? Take care of each other.” Then they’re gone, and he has work of his own to do, and all he can do is pray.

They make it back.  She rides in with a load of Imperial Gold Weapons and the Eagle, calling lightning down on her enemies like it’s natural to her. The first thing she does when she can  is sweep him into a bone-crushing hug. She’s so sorry, she says, but it’s not her fault, it’s not her fault at all, and he’s just so glad she’s back. He still hates Hera.

She gets along well with Reyna and helps work out a treaty between the camps while he looks for the Doors of Death and the Seven set off on their quest. Apparently, no one told her when he got captured, because she’s livid when it get mentioned in the retelling, when everything is over.

Octavian still tries to turn the camps against each other when Reyna leaves to get the Athena Parthenos, but it doesn’t work as well when half the Romans still think of her as their praetor. Gaia’s forces face united camps and focused Gods, and this war might be even easier than the Titan’s war. A mourning party of 6 returns, short one Leo Vasquez. Tabitha calls him out on shit. He gets a welcome back party too, once everyone stops giving him and Calypso grief for doing that to them.

Life is good again. Tabitha approves when Nico and Will start dating, though she rejects all of the Aphrodite’s kids attempts to set her up too. She manages to avoid the kerfuffle with Annabeth’s cousin Magnus, and pranks the mortal Apollo when he swings around (she knows it’s not a good idea to prank even a mortal god, in case he finds out, but the influences from Naruto and the Hermes kids are too strong. Apollo I so impressed, when he regains his godhood, he makes it into a song… though the lyrics suggest he watched it happen to someone else.

When Tabitha dies this time, she finds herself in the Isles of the Blessed. Third times a charm, it seems, and she doesn’t get reborn again. Good thing, too. After 3 lives, she has far too many precious people here to want to leave again.

She never got reborn into the Harry Potter world, but she thinks she can steal from it anyways when she says: All was well.

XxXxX

Wow. I don’t know where that came from. I haven’t read the books in a while, so some of that may not completely gel with canon, but I hope I remembered the major points correctly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tabitha means "female gazelle" aka female deer in old Greek, and is the name of a woman brought back to life in the Bible. It's super apropos. Hartley as a surname- it means deer pasture in old English, the same way Nara is the Deer Island. This is, I believe, the fic that spawned like. Every freaking person using Tabitha as Shikako's reincarnation name. XD At the least, it's the first time someone used that name on the forums that I found.


	2. FMA: Alchemist!Shikako in Ishval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because there needs to be more FMA fic with Shikako. 
> 
> Shikako as an Alchemist in the Ishvallan War.

Logue Lowe, Ishvalan Supreme Cleric, sits with his council hearing reports on their people, and despairs.

 

They have not the power to fight Amestris, and until they understand what the Amestrians could possibly want from their beleaguered people, they can not even appease them. For all their attempts at diplomacy, Amestris has only stepped up their military response. If the reports he’s receiving are correct, they’ve been gathering their living weapons, planning an assault on Ishval with all of their State Alchemists.

 

Logue’s people may be facing complete extermination any day now, and he does not see a way out for his people that does not end in wide-spread bloodshed.

 

“Sir? There’s an Amestrian Officer here to see you. She says it’s important.”

 

This is, potentially, good news, if they have come to negotiate some sort of peace, yet the aid’s voice is deliberately neutral in delivering the information. Sensing something off, Logue pulls himself from his thoughts to look fully at the man. With a grimace his aid makes a gesture with his hand by his hip, indicating a pocket watch.

 

An Amestrian officer – an Amestrian _State Alchemist_ – has asked to meet with him.

 

There are so many reasons he should say no.

 

“Show her in.”

 

But he can’t, because no matter how likely it is that this is a trap, he cannot throw away his people’s last chance at negotiations. He cannot face his God if he has not done everything in his power to prevent violence by and upon their people.

 

The girl who steps in is not what he is expecting.

 

She’s young – barely a teenager – and somehow the severe cut Amestris’ military uniform emphasizes her youth rather than undercutting it. Her dark braid is military tight, though the rest of her uniform shows off the leeway State Alchemists are allowed. She has two sets of ear piercings; a set of silver hoops as well as green-jeweled studs. A similar dark green stone hangs from a cord at her neck. It shimmers faintly, almost eerily, in the shadows. A dark green long coat hangs open over her uniform, displaying her status while still blunting its conspicuousness.

 

And of course, there is the silver pocket watch, clipped casually, almost out of view, at her hip.

 

“Supreme Cleric Lowe,” she says upon entry, bowing her head slightly in respect. That, too, he did not expect.

 

He gestures for her to take a seat, and she kneels across the low table from him. The movement makes clear the sword hilt covered in alchemical runes hanging from hip, opposite the more eye-catching pocketwatch. It’s the sword – the _Thunder God Sword_ her people blasphemously call it – that makes him realize who she must be.

 

( _So young,_ he thinks, and carefully doesn’t wonder that the Amestrians are as harsh to their own people as they are to his.)

 

“The Thundering Alchemist, is it?”

 

“That’s what they’ve decided to call me,” she says, almost regretfully. “I suppose, as a military, they wanted something that sounded more impressive than my more common, ‘Wall-Building Alchemist.’ Lightning blasts are that, I suppose. And, well, there are worse monikers.”

 

Her eyes go dark and distant, and just for an instant, she’s far away from here. But no, he must have imagined that, because she’s staring so intently at him it’s as if she could read his soul. That, too, he must be imagining. Not even blasphemous alchemy could make such a thing possible. No, only Ishval, and Ishval alone, knows the contents of his soul.

 

“You need to get your people out,” she says without preamble. “There will be no negotations, no deals. The Amestrian army’s next move will be extermination.”

 

“If you came here to threaten-“

 

“Not a threat. A fact.”  She looks him straight in the eye, and yes, he can see the honest grief there. “Something sinister is going on at the highest reaches of our government. They want this war, have escalated it purposefully to justify their real goal; Genocide. Of _your_ people.

 

“You must have realized by now that you cannot fight them. You must at least suspect that there is no reasoning with them. So. You must organize your people to flee.”

 

What she’s saying is horrifying. He should accuse her of lying. He should ask for proof. But aloof as she is, everything about this girl still screams earnestness. Logue finds himself unable to doubt her.

 

He aches, though, at the certainty of what his people face, and at the naivety this girl, this _soldier_ accidentally shows him on her face.

 

“If they are so determined as you say,” he replies wearily, “Then they will not allow us to. Moving people is a slow process. If we try to evacuate now, they will notice, and they will stop us. I thank you deeply for your warning, though. If we send along the word, there is at least chance that we can hold them long enough for a few of our brethren in the countryside to escape.”

 

“No! There is no reason for there to be a massacre here! I have a plan! We can save your people!”

 

A fire burns in this girl, something Logue might have called holy, were she not one of the ones who used power contrary to Ishvala’s will. Even so, he finds himself hanging on the girl’s passionate desire to help his people. If she has a plan, he’s willing to at least hear her out.

 

“They believe I have infiltrated this city with the intention of surreptitiously setting markers for destructive transmutations. They’d rather me set your capital ablaze in a giant display of alchemical power than actually move in and do the bloody work themselves, if they can help it. I can create tunnels using alchemy, and we can surreptitiously evacuate people from the city. They won’t move unless they realize something’s wrong, and they won’t realize anything’s up until long after most of your people have fled.”

 

Logue does not immediately reject her offer of alchemy. Too many lives hang in the balance for him to be picky about its tangential use now, no matter how the idea disgusts him. No, there’s a bigger fault to her plan-

 

“If we run, they’ll just come after us. And they will be much faster than our people will be capable of.”

 

“I can buy you time to get deep into the desert. Their trucks and tanks can’t follow you onto the soft sand, and the higher ups won’t want to waste their resources pursuing you with infantry once you’re out of place.”

 

“You’re talking about the entire Amestrian army. About hundreds of Alchemists. You can’t possibly take them all on!“

 

The girl – the _woman,_ no child has eyes like that – stares off to the side, fingering the stone of her necklace absently.

 

“You’d be surprised what I’m capable of. I can handle it.”

 

_Brave girl_ , Logue thinks, but even so.

 

“Even if we did run, where would we go? Aerugo has already turned its back on my people. There is no where else run to, trapped as we are between Amestris and the Great Desert.”

 

She gives him a humorless smile as she pulls a paper out of one of her uniform’s pockets. It’s a map of the Ishvalan region and the Eastern deserts. There was a spot marked, seemingly at random, about halfway between Amestris and Xing.

 

He shakes his head.

 

“We do trade with the Eastern Caravans. Tough and desert-hardened as they are, even they don’t bother with that region. It’s dead wasteland.”

 

“It used to be.”

 

And _no,_ he will not bring his people to a place of twisted life, built unnaturally-

 

“ _Not-“_ she interrupts his train of thought, before he can voice his protests aloud “-because I used Alchemy on it. In fact, I actually cleared out an Alchemical blockage that was disturbing the natural bounty of that region. It will enough for your people. And, as you said, everyone avoids it. They won’t look for you there. You will be, as much as possible, _safe.”_

Logue Lowe sat back, staring numbly at the map.

 

It wasn’t a good plan. It wasn’t even a particularly brave plan, knowingly sacrificing this young girl in his people’s place.

 

But Logue Lowe could swear he felt Ishval working through the young Amestrian soldier, offering his people the chance. He had to take it, even if it damned and sullied his own soul.

 

“Tell us what you need to make this work.”

XxXxX

 

Roy Mustang looks across the battlefield at the young girl that has more guts than the entire rest of the Amestrian Army combined. She stands firmly between said army and the wall she had alchemically erected to protect the last few stragglers finishing their evacuation from the now-empty city. Sent in to destroy, she had instead protected, had saved, had even _created,_ like Alchemy was meant to.

 

She had done what Roy could not, would not. Her actions had saved thousands, had kept him and his comrades hands clean from an unnecessary slaughter.

 

And that made her a traitor.

 

His orders regarding traitors were clear.

 

He stared into dark, sad, old eyes, knowing they would haunt him for the rest of his life, especially when he one day looks into bright, angry, gold eyes belonging to another prodigious young alchemist.

 

She returned his stare, unflinching.

 

And then, she glances behind him, to where Alex Armstrong had broken down in sobbing, refusing to bring the wall down upon the girl as he and the other alchemists were ordered. Her face softens, just a fraction, and her eyes close.

 

The moment is broken. Roy closes his own eyes. Just for an instant, to grieve. Then-

 

Fire blooms between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theoretically there are sequels/prequels/other POV's I haven't finished, but might if there's interest....


	3. AtLA: Avatar Shikako (transplant, not rebirth)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara rescues a girl in an iceburg just in time for the Fire Nation to threaten the Southern Water Tribe once again. But this girl - the Avatar? - doesn't fight like any bender Katara has heard of.

Katara watches near-helplessly as Sokka is defeated by the Fire Nation invaders.

 

She wants – _needs_ – to do something, but there’s nothing she _can_ do. She was never trained to fight, and she can barely control her waterbending under the best of circumstances. Terrified out of her mind is _hardly_ the best of circumstances.

 

But Sokka is the only warrior in their tribe right now, and she’s the only one even close enough to his age. She has to do _something!_

 

The Fire Nation soldier who knocked Sokka into the snow finishes disembarking his ship. He demands to know where the Avatar is, grabbing Gran Gran and threatening her with flame.

 

“Don’t hurt our Gran Gran! She’s never done anything to you!” Katara’s indignation rises, overpowering the voice in her head that says _When has that ever mattered? None of us have ever done anything to the Fire Nation, and yet they still killed Mom-_

The Fire Nation soldier throws Gran Gran back at Katara in disgust. Katara can’t even feel relief, because he sends a blast of flames shooting at them all in the old woman’s wake. She can hear her fellow villagers shriek. Her vision tunnels, filled only with orange fire and-

 

The flame stops dead a few feet in front of the gathered villagers, a wall of air erected between them and the Fire Nation soldiers.

 

Katara blinks. Her vision is no longer filled with flaming death, but with the back of a young girl about her age.

 

This girl was not one of her tribeswomen. She had appeared in a bright beam of light while Sokka and Katara had been out fishing a couple days before. She had passed out upon seeing them, but they had managed to drag her back to the village with the large antlered creature that had appeared with her. Despite Gran Gran’s best efforts with their tribe’s herbal remedies, the girl hadn’t so much as stirred, not even when they stripped her of her odd, blood stained clothes to clean what turned out to be non-existent injuries.

 

 _A spirit wound,_ Gran Gran had declared. _The worst kind. There’s nothing we can do for her. Either she will wake up… or she won’t._

 

That fragile girl looked nothing like the terrifying warrior standing between Katara’s people and the Fire Nation soldiers.

 

“That’s airbending!” The Fire Nation soldier declares.

 

And that’s crazy, the airbenders were all killed a hundred years ago, but somehow, Katara knows he’s right. She can _feel_ the power pushing out of the girl’s hands where she holds them at the center of the air wall. But if this girl is airbending, is an airbender, when they were all wiped out, that means-

 

“ _You’re_ the _Avatar_? But you’re just some kid!”

 

_No. Way._

 

“As if you’re so old and wise, when you don’t even know not to just a fighter’s skill based on their age.”

 

The girl –the _Avatar_ – sounds utterly calm and collected. It would be so _cool,_ if Katara weren’t standing close enough the see her trembling.

 

 The Avatar was heavily injured enough to be comatose for days. She shouldn’t be fighting right now. She _definitely_ shouldn’t be bending.

 

A _spirit_ wound, Gran Gran had said. And bending comes from the _spirit._

The Avatar seems unconcerned with the harm she could do to herself, casually pulling a sword hilt out from… somewhere. With a flick of her wrist a _blade of lightning!_ forms from the hilt, a second flick sending bolts of it shooting towards the Fire Nation invaders. Electricity splits and crackles as it ricochets between their metallic armor. The soldiers scream, some passing out, others simply pulling back from the villagers, dragging their fallen comrades with them.

 

The leader, the one harassing them all, is too far away from the group to be caught in the attack, and he uses the Avatar’s brief moment of distraction to close the distance between them. He flings fire at her, and she returns with more of the same, throwing explosions at his feet until she realizes that she’s creating cracks in the ice beneath them all.

 

Switching tactics, she lunges forward, even closer, and engages the bald soldier in hand-to-hand, herding him further away from the center of the tribe and Katara’s frightened people. She holds her own well, despite her clear exhaustion, even as some of the other soldiers start to join in the attack. The Avatar twists out of the way of one particularly nasty looking fire blast, only to slip on the ice. She falters just enough for the leader to land a hard, fire-powered kick to her abdomen. She stumbles backwards, feet slipping off the edge of the ice and over open water – but she doesn’t sink.

 

She doesn’t even seem to have noticed that she’s no longer standing on solid ground. If anything, she almost looks more comfortable than she had on the ice, casually pulling of a water bending stunt Katara had never even heard of, not even in their Tribe’s oldest legends.

 

Is _this_ the kind of power the Avatar possesses?

 

Katara feels some vicious satisfaction that the Fire Nation soldiers look equally as flabbergasted as she feels.

 

The Avatar jumps impossibly high – more airbending? – and flips over the group of soldiers attacking her, putting herself back in between the invaders and the village. She lands hard, though, sinking to her knees and only catching herself from full collapse with her hands. Shaking, she tries to get up, to face the monsters that are coming for her again. She fails, her trembling legs unable to keep her steady.

 

Another explosion goes off at the soldiers’ feet as they try to edge around her towards the village, sending more cracks through the ice, though not within village boundaries this time.

 

They all return their focus to her. Compared to the soldiers who are approaching her, she’s tiny, but still, she doesn’t give up. Like double vision, Katara can see two sides to the Avatar; the unstoppable warrior and the fragile little girl both.

 

Katara has never been able to turn her back on people who need her. Right now, the Avatar, a brave and selfless little girl who could have stayed inside, who could have hidden or run and who instead put herself between these invaders and Katara’s people, needs help. She’s hurt and desperate and she’s _not giving up._

Katara doesn’t want to give up either. She wants to help. She wants these monsters _gone._

 

Blood boiling, Katara pushes her very self into that last thought, willing it so hard her arms push out with it and-

 

Ice, already weakened form the fighting _cracks,_ a thin line between the Avatar and the soldiers and their ship that grows into chasm, pushed away on a wave of Katara’s anger.

 

In the end, it’s probably only a hundred yards of breathing space, but it will have to be enough. The fire benders cannot reach them, and each blast they attempt to through only shoves their unmoored standing further away. It will take the ship’s crew a few moments to rescue the men drifting further away on the ice flow, and a few more to re-start their ship’s engine and bring the ship safely back onto solid ice.

 

Katara rushes to the Avatar’s side, slinging the other girl’s arm over her shoulder and helping her stand up.

 

“You must leave!” Gran Gran orders. “It is not safe for you here any longer.”

 

Katara, about to protest the banishment of their savior, clicks her mouth shut. “Of course! You’re the Avatar! We can’t let the Fire Nation can’t catch you! The world _needs_ you!”

 

“I can’t do that,” the Avatar protests, “You’re in danger. And I’m not… I can still take them. I just. I need a second to rest…”

 

“Your spirit was hurt!” Katara protests. “You can’t fight them like this. You have to run. We’ll… we’ll be okay. The only thing they’ll care about is capturing the Avatar-“

 

“-and taking the last Southern Waterbender,” Sokka cuts her off.

 

 In all the commotion, she hadn’t even noticed that he had gotten free of the snow drift. But there he is, leading the Avatar’s massive antlered beast over to their huddle. His war paint had mostly smeared off during the fight, and it only underscored the pain and terror Katara could see there.

 

“We need to get you two to safety. Besides, if we leave, they should follow.  It’s three mouse-gulls with one club. Our only other choice would be to fight, and right now… Even if you manage to take these guys down – which I’m not sure you can do right now – more will come. Your beast can carry all of us, right?” The Avatar nods, faintly. “We can ride it east along this ridge, to where my canoe is docked, then take that up the melt water and through the ice flows, where their ship can’t follow us. It might give us enough of a head start to… to give you a rest. We can figure the rest out from there.”

 

It’s a bad plan. A _terrible_ plan. One of Sokka’s worst.

 

But the ship has pulled of their stranded sailors off the ice flow, and will surely power their engine up any moment now. They don’t have time for anything else.

 

The Avatar is half-limp in Katara’s arms as she and Sokka heave her up on to the beast’s massive back, quickly scrambling up themselves so they can make sure the exhausted girl doesn’t tumble straight back off.

 

“Are you okay enough to steer, or should I?” Katara asks, arms around the Avatar’s middle, and Sokka bringing up in the rear.

 

The Avatar shakes her head and mumbles, “He’s got this. We need to head North, Okay?”

 

That last bit is murmured to the creature. Katara is about to ask what that means, when suddenly the beast bursts into motion, taking a giant leap off the edge of the ice and _flying._

 

As they soar over the dumbfounded soldiers on the Fire Nation ship, the Avatar begins to shake. Katara is concerned for a moment, until she realizes the the other girl is just giggling.

 

“What’s so funny?” she asks, but the Avatar just shakes her head.

 

“An inside joke,” she says tiredly. Then with a big grin she adds, “Yip, yip.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another one that I have some vague starts to some follow ups (especially Zuko's thoughts, re: lucky, prodigious, ruthless young girls) if there's enough interest to inspire me.


	4. Steven Universe: Gem!Shikako

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Rose face the rebellion's end when the Diamonds' newest secret weapon, Gelel, sneaks her way into their camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written waaaaaay before the most recent episodes re: who Rose Quartz is, obviously.

Pearl never thought to watch the shadows. Elemental Gems are incredibly rare; someone in the Rebellion would have heard if one was deployed to Earth and therefore Pearl, as Rose’s right hand, would have known. But Pearl hadn’t heard such a thing. And besides, who had ever heard of a Gem with _shadows_ as her element?

 

Pearl never thought to watch the shadows, so she is taken completely by surprise when, during a late night tactical meeting between herself and Rose, she finds her body frozen, immobile against her will. (Against her will. _Against her will._ No, she is _free._ Her own Pearl, following her own will, because if she isn’t, then what is even the _point?)_

A Gem forms herself from the shadows, and Pearl can do nothing but watch in horror. This abomination is _here_ and Pearl can’t move, and Rose isn’t moving, and this Gem has _captured Rose Quartz._

Pearl struggles. She fights. She refuses to accept this. This be the end of Rose. This be the end of the rebellion. Maybe it won’t even be the end of Pearl, if she could just. _Move._

“Rose Quartz,” the shadow gem says, once her form resembles something gemoid. Her back is to Pearl. A mistake. Peark is a warrior, now, not a decoration. She will exploit her enemy’s underestimation of her. If she can just move, just grab her spear, just reach Rose and join their power as Rainbow Quartz…

 

“Gelel.”

 

Rose Quartz responds with the voice of a general; all it’s usual warmth gone, replaced with the steel that is so easy to make on this planet. Rose’s mouth is not covered with a shadow hand, as Pearl’s is, and she wonders why Rose does not call out – it may be the middle of the night, but Gems do not need to sleep like the creatures of this planet. The other Crystal Gems will come, if Rose shouts-

 

Rose’s statement sinks in, and Pearl’s eyes widen.

 

Gelel. The project Homeworld has been pouring research and resources into since the Crystal Gems became a real threat. Meant to end the Rebellion and squash future dissent before it can even begin to fester, this Gem is rumored to be more powerful than any other Homeworld Soldiers, excepting the Diamonds. The Crystal Gems had mounted more than one unsuccessful attack on the Dead Wastes where this gem was grown, feeding on not just the minerals, but the very _life_ of this planet.

 

Unstoppable. Incorruptible. The Perfect Gem Soldier.

 

Pearl realizes why Rose does not call out. The is not one, not ten, probably not a _hundred_ gems in this camp of misfits and outcasts who could stand against Gelel, and Rose would never throw her soldiers purposefully into danger without cause.

 

Gelel is supposed to be perfect. Depending on her orders, and how much individual thought she is capable of, that might actually work in their favor. Gelel might  just shatter Rose Quartz ( _No!_ ) and maybe Pearl, without thinking to crush the rest. Rose will be hoping for that, that the others will be given the opportunity to flee, to live.

 

“I was created to destroy you,” Gelel says, voice completely inflectionless. Dead, like the life lost to create her.

 

Then, as Pearl watches, Gelel _shifts_ shadows falling away to reveal a solid form. She looks like one of the humans Rose so loves.

 

“But, I heard taking in gems who rejected this purpose is kind of your _thing._ ” The girl – and for some reason, Pearl wants to use the word ‘girl,’ not ‘Gem’ or ‘woman’ – grins, voice no longer emotionless, but filled with amusement. “I don’t suppose the Crystal Gems have room for one more traitor that wants to save the Earth?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had been vaguely playing around with the idea of Shikako as Greg’s sister for ages (because we had been on a ‘less/no power’ tack and really, how cool would Auntie!Shikako be to Steven and the gems) but then last week it hit me that I should go in completely the opposite direction. Shikako should be a Gem, and not just something vaguely shadow-y, like Obsidian, but Gelel itself. So, Shikako is a Gem for her third life, and alternatively takes her human/Shikako form, her shadow double form, or dissolves her form into actual shadows (a la eldritch abomination Shikako). Gelel is her stone, embedded in her chest.
> 
> And like hell was she ever going to stay loyal to Homeworld, no matter their brainwashing. Far too like Danzou, for her tastes.
> 
> XxXxX
> 
> I know this will surprise you at this point, but I have a little bit more written for this, had some ideas for sequels and other POVs, if there's any interest...


	5. Hunger Games: "Katniss" and "Peeta"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haymitch is shocked by how well his Champions handle some uncomfortably special attention from the highest ranks of the Capitol.

For the first time in twenty-four years, Haymitch has gotten what he wanted, and it just makes him wish for a drink again.

 

The dark numbness of the bottle would surely be better than this agony of emotion he has to feel sober. Because he brought one – _two_ – of Districts Twleve’s children safely out of the arena, only to be forced to throw them to even more vicious monsters.

 

He had been so hopeful, at the start. Katniss sparked something in those around her when she selflessly volunteered for her sister, and Peeta had given that momentum by taking her hand and supporting her in front of everyone. The two children had confronted him on the train, had showed him their _fire,_ and he thought, for once, that he might have a chance to save one of the kids entrusted into his worthless care.

 

Then Peeta had said all the right things to wind the Capitol up, and Katniss had lit the stage ablaze after challenging the Gamemakers. And Haymitch had thought, maybe they had something more. Maybe they had the sparks for a rebellion.

 

Snow caught on to the danger quickly, of course, but Snow was a known quantity. Haymitch had used the Capitol’s own weapons against them before, and he was prepared to do it again, to turn public and private opinion against Snow’s wishes to save his kids.

 

He realized too late that Snow was not their only enemy.

 

Snow’s dour grandson Septimus had taken an immediate interest in the two. Haymitch could see how he would be the type to find value in taking something another so greatly valued, and Peeta’s adoration of Katniss is plain for all to see. Of course he’d want to stick his greedy little Capitol fingers into the pair’s relationship.

 

Septimus’ Instructor, General Lupus had likewise taken note of the pair. Even more than his genius as a tactician, the man was best known for his audacious exhibition of his salacious tastes, crassly reading porn even at public functions. Haymitch only wished he couldn’t imagine why a man like that would take an interest in his kids.

 

Haymitch could hardly turn down either man’s generous sponsorships, either. Not when his injured, starving kids so desperately needed their support.

 

And now, the time had come to pay the pipers for their generosity.

 

It was their last night in the Capitol, before returning to Twelve, and Haymitch had been forced to deliver Katniss and Peeta for a private party where they could show their _appreciation_ for the men’s support.

 

Haymitch prayed this last event would not be the one that finally broke them.

 

The clicking sound of the door unlatching broke Haymitch from his reverie. It was the moment of truth. Would his kids finally be broken? And even if not, would they ever forgive him?

 

The door swung open fully, and Katniss and Peeta stepped in, looking lighter and _happier_ than they he had ever seen them. As if the weight of the arena now longer held their shoulders down. And… this was nothing Haymitch could have ever anticipated. His kids aren’t good enough actors to be faking, and there are no drugs that would make them smile so brightly (a fact Haymitch is intimately, disappointingly familiar with).

 

What had _happened_ last night?

 

“How did things go?” He asks instead, trying to hold on to the gruff mentor voice he had always used with them. Familiarity might help them. And, well, he’s feeling far too raw and anxious to open himself up right now. He needs every wall he has up if he’s going to get through this tonight.

 

Peeta is bouncing up on the balls of his feet, all energy and excitement, but Katniss has a hand on his shoulder to calm him, and answers before he can blurt out whatever has him riled up.

 

“Great. We had a very… _enlightening_ meeting with SASU and General Lupus,” Katniss says with a smirk, and now Haymitch _knows_ something’s up.

 

He knows she’s not stupid enough to have forgotten what’s on the line after their little stunt, or not to have noticed if they were being threatened. She’s a terrible liar, so she must truly believe things went well, but he can’t think of any good reason for her to have been put at such ease that she seems practically _playful_ while they’re still in the capitol.

 

“The important thing for you, is that we don’t have cause for immediate concern over our recent actions,” Katniss continues meaningfully.

 

Apparently the importance of that statement has gone right over Peeta’s head, and his patience with Katniss’ restraint has run out. The boy bursts out, “And also the Bastard is totally gonna come on our district tour with us!”

 

Haymitch pales.

 

“Na- Peeta!” Katniss shrieks. “Be nice! Or at least don’t call him that where people can hear.” Katniss makes a series of quick hand gestures – like the ones the pair had used in the arena to communicate without revealing their position – bringing his outward enthusiasm back down to a low simmer. She turns back to him. “Seriously Haymitch, things went fine.”

 

“I don’t think they did, Sweetheart. Not if Snow’s own grandson is going to be personally monitoring us.”

 

And _where_ has all of Katniss’ good sense gone? He could always count on her to be wary and perceptive before. How has she missed this?

 

“It’s not like that, Haymitch. Really. Let’s just say… the Lucky Sevens are back together. And that’s a good thing. For us.”

 

The grin she gives him is all teeth, fierce and predatory, and it doesn’t make him feel better in the slightest.

 

He even more than before, he really wants a drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah! Naruto and Shikako as Katniss and Peeta. They found each other way back when they were kids, and have been working together – secretly – ever since. Of course Shikako volunteered to take the place of her sweet little sister. It was just bad luck that Naruto got reaped the same year. But they were always gonna stand together as a team, and if they decided to play up heir solidarity and intimacy into Haymitch’s romance to give them both a chance to come home, well.
> 
> Kakashi saw their teamwork, and the way they each moved, and pinged his cute little genin for what they were right away. Sasuke was a little more guarded than Kakashi, but when he saw them using Konoha anbu signs to communicate during the parade (and then had to watch Shikako’s stage fright, and Naruto’s typical determinator speech), he couldn’t deny it any longer. He and Kakashi threw themselves into bringing their teammates, their family, home safe, no matter what political capital they had to spend to get the rules changed. And then the two pulled that berry stunt anyways. Well, they had been looking for an in to start changing their country’s crappy system. Now Shikako and Naruto have given it to them.
> 
> I dunno. I meant to do a scene or two of various people, from other Victors to rebels to capitol folk to district folks just being baffled by how well the four get along, and how scary and competent they were at steering things now that they’re working together, (the Rebellion’s darlings with Snow’s grandson and general standing proudly behind them? Now there’s a fun propaganda image) but I didn’t know what else to do. I pushed out the opening scene. Maybe someone else can take the idea and do the cool dramatic reveals? I dunno.


	6. MCU (Pre-Infinity War): Mistaken-For-Death!Shikako

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanos has only ever wanted to court Death. Shikako just wants him to leave her alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Note from the forums:
> 
> Wait. Guys. Guys. We totally haven't taken the Powerful!EldritchHorror!DefeaterofJashin!SoulOfInfinity!Shikako to it's logical conclusion.
> 
> Because sure, Shikako’s really not that powerful relative to other people in her realm. But neither is Thor, compared to other Asgardians. So maybe the power scale is a bit off, if you start comparing Ninja to humans, and Gelel and Jashin to other infamous interstellar god-like beings of power…

Shikako hadn’t honestly expected to return to the Marvel universe after her brief escapades, and yet here she was. Tony was so desperate for her help he invented a whole new branch of physics just to build a portal just to find her. How could she turn down an ally who was clearly desperate?

 

She couldn’t. Well, she couldn’t once he agreed to make her repulsor boots so she could fly around too, anyways.

 

Standing before Thanos, the Universe bending to his will, and the power of his Infinity Gauntlet, she could sort of understand why Tony felt to desperate. Thanos was no Jashin, of course, but he was still terrifyingly impressive, especially if you didn’t understand the how to deconstruct and disrupt that power.

 

Luckily, she did.

 

She held her Shadow State as she drew out her seal around the battlefield – it was the only way to maintain her concentration as debris and stray energy beams and magic bounced all around her.

 

Plus, hopefully, her reduced presence would help keep Thanos from noticing her presence until it was too late…

 

…She really shouldn’t have thought that. Because of course that’s right when her Team Seven Luck kicks in and he looks right at her.

 

“You!”

 

A few Avengers attempt to interpose themselves between him and her, to gain her as much time as possible to finish the seal. Thanos’ gauntlet glows in all its six-stone glory. With a flick of his wrist, he easily tosses them all aside.

 

Shikako momentarily abandons her seal work, pulling out the Sword of the Thundergod. The sword cast a much stronger shadow than the blood-red, sunless sky they were fighting under. Chakra pooled into that shadow she cast this way, prepared to snare, stab, or set seals at her whim.

 

But Thanos didn’t move to attack her. He simply ambled over, looking almost hesitant.

 

“My Dear Lady! I had no idea you were going to be here. I’m not interrupting you, am I?”

 

Shikako, utterly stunned by the interaction, can’t help but glance down at the seal work at her feet.

 

“Oh! You’re doing a seal! Please! Don’t let me interrupt your work! It’s just.”

 

The Mad Titan glances to the side, scuffing his boot into the ground, though thankfully not mussing Shikako’s seal. Shikako’s not sure what it means that his cheeks darken. Is this some kind of attack? Is he playing with her?

 

He takes a deep breath, and looks straight at her again. He brings up the Infinity Gauntlet, and Shikako instinctively braces defensively. But he doesn’t attack her. He merely pulls off the Gauntlet holding it by its base in front of her, as one might proffer a bouquet of flowers.

 

“I was going to wait until I had proven myself to ask, but since you’re here… I was wondering. If you maybe wanted to go out with me some time?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in the Marvel universe, we know that Death is and anthropomorphized concept. Like, that's the whole reason Thanos wants to collect all the stones, gain all the power, and kill all the things - he wants to impress death because he's totally smitten with her. So, I wanted to consider a world where either Shikako is/is confused to be Death, or where her deeds of taming Gelel (A seventh infinity stone capable of creating life?) and Bitch-Slapping Jashin (the anthropomorphized concepts of suffering – something that I think is probably equal to if not greater than the concept of death throughout the universe) have spread far enough and are impressive enough that Thanos crushes on her instead of Death. I dunno. I thought it was funny.


	7. Game of Thrones: Princess!Shikako and her Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have never read or watched Game of Thrones, but through cultural osmosis, I attempt to stick Shikako and Kakashi in there to fix everything anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original AN from the forums:
> 
> So, I’m gonna throw us a bit off the Worm stuff, since I finally finished by little Game of Thrones cross drabble. Well, not finished. I have more ideas, but I don’t know enough to flesh them out so thigns would /really/ go off the rails. This is a mostly-coherent group of thoughts, so I’m gonna cut it here. 
> 
> I would just like to remind everyone again that I decided to write this knowing almost nothing about game of thrones, so it’s gonna be hella inaccurate. In fact, here’s what I think I know about the show/books:
> 
> Robert Baratheon (Family symbol = stag) is King. This is a recent development, when the mad king of the dragon family (Danerys’ dad) was overthrown. His wife is Cersei Lannister, who likes power and money. He’s honestly also a bit of a mad king – he was a great general in war time, but he doesn’t know how to run a country at peace. He’s a bit hedonistic, but a doting father to his children, except Joffery. In canon, Robert didn’t actually have kids of his own, because all of his wife’s kids were actually sired by her brother Jaime (as evidence by their blond hair instead of dark). This causes a problem of succession when Robert dies. His brothers and his legal children fight over. 
> 
> Eddard Stark is Robert’s Hand and BFF. If you know any GoT characters you might care that he’s dad to Sansa, Arya, Bran and Jon (possibly the last one is false, at least in the TV show?), and Lord of the North/Winterfell, where they maintain the wall that protects Westeros from being overrun by snow zombies called White Walkers. In canon, Eddard supports Robert's brother Stannis’ claim to the throne, and this ends up causing a bunch of problems. Stannis dies, at some point, I think, after sacrificing his only daughter to his god for power. She was sick with something that gave her scales on her face.
> 
> The Stark family sigil is a direwolf, and the family bonds and trains a pack of them.
> 
> The Lannisters (Lion symbol?) are the rich blond family – they have more money than the rest of the country, including the king, combined. Jaime and Cersei’s little brother is Tyrion, who’s a dwarf. No body in-universe seems to like him. I think there’s 7 noble families, totally, but I don’t know the others. I think there’s a Tyrel family that has an old lady who’s stuck up in it, and she became a meme, so I assume that house is sort of contrarian, if she’s the most memorable character from it.
> 
> Also, beyond the fight for the throne, there’s a general concern in Westeros that they need to be united ASAP, so they don’t get over run by the coming armies of white walkers or dragons because they were too busy fighting themselves.

Cersei Lannister’s first child is a weak, dark-haired babe that is not expected to survive the night.

 

But she does. And then she survives the next night, and the next.

 

By the time Cersei gives birth to her first son, the blond-haired heir apparent, they no longer fear quite so constantly for the child’s life. No, the little girl is bright (perhaps too bright – if anything, they fear the intelligence that should not be in those eyes) and active (definitely too active – her nursemaids constantly strain to keep the child contained to where she should be).

 

King Robert finds his little daughter funny, and cute. She’s so very _serious_ for a child – “She’s thinking harder than the lot of you combined!” Robert likes to tell his advisers – that Robert can’t help but laugh. That he’s one of the few to be gifted with her smiles only strengthens the special connection between father and daughter.

 

Robert has always been one to do what he wants, and he extends that privilege to his favorite child. He indulges her far more than any other king might have a girl.

 

Growing up, she spends more than one afternoon on her father’s knee as he conducts his business. She knows how to be quiet and still, and her presence keeps Robert in a good mood, abler to focus on his tasks, so no one protests the breach of decorum. Protesting Roberts whims is often an exercise in futility anyways.

 

Except then she starts making _suggestions._ And Robert wants to humor her.

 

His advisors protest, of course. Who the hell thinks following the plans of a _little girl_ is a good idea? But Robert waves them off.  Some begin to consider regicide – he’s clearly just as mad as the last king, in his own way.

 

But then her plans work. And they keep working. And things in the kingdom get better. And the little treasonous whispers, so quiet they may not even be spoken allowed, begin to die out.

 

Cersei Lannister watches her husband with her daughter, watches the way the court dances around them both, and considers which options will keep her in the most power. And she comes to a conclusion she might not have in another world.

 

XxXxX

 

Eddard Stark’s brother’s hair goes silver long before its time. Rather than phasing the lazy, perpetually late man, he instead actually seems _pleased_ with the change, no matter that it makes his marriage prospects that much harder. Though, not pleased enough to get his nose out of his filthy books for once and attend to his duties as second Lord of Winterfell.  The man is exceedingly lucky that he is so proficient with training the Stark’s famous dire wolves. That he can so well tame the family’s sigil animal to his whims, and even effectively use them in battle, is boon enough that Eddard will put up with all sorts of misbehavior otherwise.

 

That doesn’t mean Eddard doesn’t do everything he can to keep his brother away from capital politics. Eddard loves his younger brother, and can appreciate the man’s eccentricities, but he still knows that the deadly games around the Iron Throne will have no tolerance for his brother’s antics, and no mercy for the imposition they cause.

 

Unfortunately, there’s no excuse good enough to keep him away when Robert gets it into his head that _all_ of his nobility must come to King’s Landing celebrate his precious daughter’s seventh birthday. All Eddard can do is lecture his brother _very_ sternly about what not to do and  what the consequences of doing those things anyways could be. His warnings are brushed off with an aloof, one-eyed stare, and Eddard instead begins pray that Robert will at least fine his brother’s antics amusing.

 

Showing up late to nearly every event is an excusable – and relatively minor, given his usual antics – offense. Not showing up at _all_ to the All-Lords Council is significantly less so. That the Princess happened to go missing around the same time as his brother only makes Eddard’s blood turn to ice.

 

_Of all the irresponsible-_

_-the things he could be doing-_

_-what is he thinking-_

_-doesn’t he understand what could happen-_

 

Finding his brother and the Princess together is both better and worse than he could have imagined.

 

She’s entirely unharmed – in fact, she doesn’t even seem to be unhappy – but she’s also _wielding a sword._ And his brother is sparring with her. And Robert is going to _kill them all dead if he finds out._

Eddard tries to talk sense into them. He tries to get his brother to stop this foolishness, to beg the princess not to mention this little incident to her father.

 

But she just gives him a _look._ The same look his brother gives him when he thinks Eddard’s being an idiot, and he’s not going to listen to him. (And how the hell did he pass that look onto her already – they can’t have been left alone together for more than a few hours! Oh, Robert is _definitely_ going to kill them.)

 

But then her face smooth’s out and she gives him a bright smile and _he believes her_ when she agrees she doesn’t need to talk to the king about this.

 

And she doesn’t. _Talk_ to him about it, anyways.

 

But then during the celebratory tournament, a tiny figure in Lannister armor, barely larger than most of the competitor’s swords steps into the ring. Tyrion Lannister, most would assume, except Eddard knows good and well that the short-statured man is holed up in the library right now. That means this can only be-

 

Eddard’s stomach drops out from underneath him.

 

No _wonder_ his brother had barely arrived late today. He should have known the man was up to some sort of mischief.  He tries to get to Robert in time, to make the man stop the matches, but he’s too late. They’ve started, and Robert won’t listen to anything when there’s a good fight on.

 

She survives. Mostly unharmed, too. She doesn’t win, not even close – she’s still just a child after all – but she managed to show off no small amount of skill before her identity is revealed.

 

They’re just lucky that she’s always known how to get what she wants from Robert. By the end of things, the king is laughing, delighted, about his daughter’s secret lessons and obvious martial skill. Robert has always been better on the battlefield than off of it, and this is just one more thing father and daughter can bond over.

 

Eddard is just about to relax, relieved that everything turned out okay, when his brother is assigned a permanent post in King’s Landing as her instructor.

 

At the banquet that night, Eddard out-drinks Tyrion Lannister for the first time.

 

XxXxX

 

“Support the girl, Ned.”

 

Eddard looks up from his papers to where his brother is leaning against the door frame to his office. Half shadowed as he is from the candlelight, he looks almost menacing.

 

“You know it’s not that simple-“

 

“Isn’t it?”

 

He steps closer, until he reaches Ned’s desk. He places his palms flat on its surface, leaning down to look Ned straight in the eye.

 

“Support. The. Girl.”

 

Ned feels what he could almost call a prickling of fear.

 

He tamps whatever the feeling is, focusing on the task at hand. This is his brother. His lazy, unambitious brother. He has no reason to fear this man. It must be the stress and the grief clouding his instincts, making him paranoid.

 

His brother holds his stare for just a moment beyond that before leaning back, adopting his more typical slouching posture.

 

“She is Robert’s first born child – his _only_ child, most likely – and you know it. She was his favored heir. She’s trained for it. She’ll be _good_ at it. On the battlefield, like her father, but also off. Westeros _needs_ a leader who knows how to rule in peace time. You and I both know Stannis isn’t it, even if he had the political backing he needed to take the throne. And he doesn’t have that.

 

“The Lannisters will support whichever of their own heirs is most likely to keep their power. The Tyrel’s will oppose everyone except themselves anyways. And the Starks risk civil war, if only half of us swear ourselves to him.”

 

“’Us?’Are you threatening rebellion? Against your own brother?”

 

“I’m threatening rebellion against a man who wants to gamble with the fate of Winterfell, and all of Westeros. She’d the right choice, by blood, and politics, and acumen. You only hesitate because tradition dictates a man lead us.”

 

“The other Lords will rally against us. They already feel the Starks and Lannisters have too much power. They won’t stand for our houses to have a puppet queen on the throne – and whether or not that’s true, you know that’s how they’ll see it, with myself and her mother standing over her shoulders. They’ll circle, waiting for our houses to fight to control the puppet, weakening each other in the process. And when the opportunity comes, they will strike back, and we’ll all be at war anyways, having merely delayed the inevitable. Stannis is the better choice, long term-“

 

“Stannis is an unpopular imbecile with no healthy heir. He will never sit on the Iron Throne. And she won’t be seen as a puppet. It seems Cersei will be taking her other children on a trip to visit her ancestral home, where they will remain indefinitely. Meanwhile, you will return to Winterfell, to better focus on our domain. Not even the Tyrel’s can claim puppetry when only her lazy kennel master of a Hand remains?”

 

“You? The King’s Hand? You _hate_ duty-” Ned blinks as several pieces to the puzzle fall into place all at once. “You hold her in such high regard?”

 

His brother glances away, more than confirming how strongly she holds his loyalty.

 

Ned knows his brother. Knows what is takes to genuinely earn his respect, and how much more than that it takes to earn his support. And really, that tells him all he needs to know, doesn’t it?

 

“Very well. The House of Stark will the Princess’ claim to the throne.”

 

XxXxX

 

 

When the dragons and the white walkers come, a united, prepared Westeros greets them.

 

The Iron Throne does not so much as flinch before those storms of ice and fire.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. That’s a mostly-coherent arc for Shikako and Kakashi, right? I also had ideas for some other team seven members – Naruto as some minor Lannister family member, Sasuke as one of the other noble house’s heirs, and so on – so that the seven of them could represent the seven noble families and really create a united Westeros loyal to the iron throne, but that would have taken a lot of research and planning I didn’t want to do.
> 
> I also had a couple of mental images for scenes of Shikako riding around on a war-stag instead of a horse, being an awesome commander even against dragons (she knows how to fight things in the air, and I think she could come up with something better than ‘a single big crossbow’ as her counter attack) and, if you wanted to do a world when lots of Naruto people were reborn and/or naruto-like magic exists, her acquiring something like the sword of the thundergod or a gelel stone and being a bamf with them.
> 
> One last vague idea:
> 
> Shikako spends her time in the forests surrounding Kings Landing. Assassins attempt to take advantage of this habit. Shikako comes out of the woods that day seated upon a monstrous stag. She’s covered in blood not her own, an assassin’s body speared for display upon her buck’s giant antlers. She takes good political advantage of how badass this makes her, and how the way she interacts with her house’s sigil animal makes for good PR.


	8. AtLA: Shikako as Ozai's Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ursa's sister-in-law interrupts her plot the night Azulon is meant to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was looking at all the old ATLA crossover stuff, and realized that in this world, we let Shikako be Practical, and we let her be Kind, but we've yet to put her in a place where she couldn't even be those things. I lost a lot of the build up to this, but I managed to jot down this scene on the drive home yesterday. Uh, it's rough.

Ursa barely makes it halfway down the hall as she flees her father-in-law's bedroom - his  _death bed_ \- before an iron grip hauls her into an alcove.

She is not given an instant to fight or claim innocence, as she is wheeled around to face her sister-in-laws steely eyes.

A trap.

Of course it was. Ozai would never let her fly free and able to spill his darkest secrets. She had thought her husband's quiet twin took more after her elder brother than after Ozai, but the calculation in that gaze disabuses her of any such notions. This woman is as ruthless as the rest of her cursed family.

Ursa has to believe Ozai's honor will hold him to the other half of his agreement, will preserve her children. If it doesn't-

"The children must go."

-she will  _fight._

 

Ursa may be an actor and healer by training, and a Princess by marriage, but she is also a Fire, also combat trained. Mostly, she is also a  _mother._

 

_Don't touch my children!_

 

She twists, trying to leverage against the weak point in the grip the restrains her, at the same time she brings her knee around, hoping to wind and off balance her opponent. Instead, the other woman fluidly follows Ursa's contortion, moving with the blow until they're both off-balance together. Ursa is pinned to the floor, a knee in her back.

No.  _No._ It can't end here. She didn't put that  _monster_ on the throne just so her children would be-

"Stop it. As I was saying; the children need to go with you, or they're going to be in danger."

…What? Ursa stops struggling against her sister-in-law's hold in shock.

"You  _were_ going to flee, right? Then listen carefully. I have a boat waiting down at the docks with a crew I trust and the supplies to take you anywhere you want to go. If you don't trust  _me,_ you can at least take the money and supplies I've stored in the south-eight catacomb as you flee the palace, and make your own arrangements.

"Officially, you found out about Azulon's death almost immediately due to a spy amongst his servants. You knew there would be a contest for the throne, and that your children, as the weakest living heirs in succession, would be targets of various factions. To protect them, you smuggled them out of the palace in the middle of the night, and laid low to protect them until everything blew over. Once I have secured the throne, I will of course need heirs, so I will decide to track down my beloved, missing niece and nephew, pardoning their mother for kidnapping them, of course, given the circumstances. Then all three of you get to live safely under my protection in the palace- or not, since I know you had your own life outside the capital before Ozai. Whichever you wish."

The pressure is removed from Ursa's back. She sits up to look her sister-in-law in the eye, to search her face for… "Why?"

Heartbreak flashes across features -  _she looks so like her brother -_ that Ursa had never seen show emotion beyond cunning or condescension. The emotion is too raw, too private, and Ursa is forced to look away. The voice is strong, though, when it speaks. The actress in Ursa is impressed; you can barely hear the hitch as she breathes.

"I failed my twin, and I never had a chance to save my father. He was too far gone from my very childhood. Now, my nephew is dead and my eldest brother is currently lost to his own grief. This war needs to stop. I will stop it. But I would like to save the little little family I have left, if I can. You understand that, don't you?"

Ursa does. She looks back at her sister-in-law, and sees more resolve than grief there. Then, it's gone, that familiar stoic mask back in place. This time, it's her sister that looks away.

"Go. Now," she orders, when Ursa doesn't move. Ursa forces her self to nod, then obeys, not tarrying any longer to offer her thanks. This woman would not want or need it, she knows now, finally understanding her.

It takes a month for the news to reach Ursa, where she'd hidden her family away with her old theatre group. She does not feel grief when she learns of the Agni Kai gone wrong, or how her husband had a fist full of lighting plunged through his heart. No, her only concern is how to explain to her children - who loved their father, despite everything - that their Aunt, the new Fire Lord, was not in the wrong.


	9. AtLA: Fire General Shikako vs. Earth Prince Shikamaru

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikako and Shikamaru are both reborn, on opposing sides of a hundred year long war.

To be honest, when the Earth King and Queen died that black night, the Earth Kingdom Nobles all expected Prince Shi-Kang to take the throne for himself. It shouldn't have mattered how lazy he appeared to be. It shouldn't have mattered that, technically, his nephew was next in line. The boy should have met his unfortunate, 'accidental,' end, and then Shi-Kang should have taken all the power of the Earth Throne for himself.

Instead, the man determinedly took the title of 'Regent' and began raising the next Earth King. For all that he truly did appear to prefer to avoid work when he could, the man never gave an ounce less of himself than it took to complete his duties. Kuei was viciously guarded from harm, and obsessively trained for his future role. In the meantime, Shi-Kang took more of an interest in the workings of the Earth Kingdom than any Earth Monarch in recent history.

He managed to keep informed of – and advise on – more areas than any one man should have been able to. At the same time, he did not  _take over_ these positions. This was no consolidation of power; it was a distribution of it. Trusted, competent,  _qualified_ people slowly began to fill roles of importance, and then were left to operate mostly autonomously, as long as Shi-Kang was kept in the loop.

The only seeming exception to this rule was the ousting of the highly respected Long Feng from his positions as Grand Secretariat and Leader of the Dai Li some five years into Shi-Kang's Regency. It's at odds enough with Shi-Kang's other behavior, that people decide that Long Feng must be the one who was not as he seemed, not their respected Prince. They silently applaud their Regent's astuteness, so see whatever it was they all missed.

If a man wanted to take the slow road to the Throne, the nobles think,  _this_ is how he would do it. Avoid the suspicions of assassination, and simply do so well no one wants to remove you from power when the time is supposed to come. Their expectations are still wrong.

Through it all, Shi-Kang continues to protect, teach, and dote on his nephew, vehemently denying that he will not step down when it is time for Kuei to take the throne, and assuring his advisors that Kuei will be so thoroughly prepared for his role, that they won't even miss him.

XxXxX

Fire Princess Kazuko hears the plans for her precious nephew Lu Ten to be shipped out with the troops that are besieging Ba Sing Se under beloved brother Iroh, and is suddenly reminded of one of the saddest scenes in one of her favorite shows from several lifetimes ago.

_Leaves from the vine, falling so slow._

_Like fragile, tiny shells,_

_Drifting in the foam._

_Little soldier boy, come marching home._

_Brave soldier boy, comes marching home._

_Happy Birthday my son. If only I could have helped you._

No.  _No._ She thought she had more  _time._

Her pieces aren't nearly in place for her to take the throne yet.

At least, not peacefully.

Sending silent apologies to the Earth Kingdom, she speaks.

"Father, I beg that you will forgive my previous selfishness. I cannot continue to stand by while you send both your Heir and your Second so far from your all-powerful protections. If it would ease even one concern from yours and my Honored Elder Brother's mind, I am finally willing to step onto the battlefield. Let me assist my brother, by offering him my power, my unique tactical perspective, and the only small protection I can give your favored grandson."

Fire Lord Azulon looks at his prodigious daughter - a bender unmatched in power or skill, a commander second-to-none on the battlefield, a genius of invention and strategy – and can see the fall of Ba Sing Se.

XxXxX

Shikamaru has been organizing the war effort for years – though whether his generals realize that or not is questionable – when the Fire Nation finally pushes far enough into the continent to lay siege to Ba Sing Se.

He's observing the Council of Five, watching them replicate the movements of their enemy's troops, when his mind is diverted from calculating the army's next counter.

_I know this strategy._

Shikamaru realizes who is commanding the Fire Nation troops. There is no more time for subtlety.

"Generals, while I appreciate your stratagems, I find I must now order you, as Regent to the Earth Throne, to do as I say."

XxXxX

Shikako is contemplating the merits of simply blowing Ba Sing Se's walls up with a massive lightening blast, when the patterns of enemy movement catch her eye.

Huh.

If the situation weren't so dire, Shikako would roll her eyes at how obvious her brother was being. Truly, did he think her so imperceptive?

"Iroh? I have an idea. Do you mind commanding our troops to hold and fortify their positions for the next 48 hours?"

Stepping from the command after receiving her brother's agreement, Shikako signals to dismiss her entourage, except for a pair of young assassins from the colonies, two of the only non-military personnel in the encampment. Shikako leads them to her own tent.

"Kakashi," she addresses the younger one, as she writes a quick note. "Shikamaru is the Earth King's Regent, and is commanding their troops. Will you please leave this request for Parley in his room tonight? And no matter how tempting it is,  _don't_ stop to draw one his face. Poor Shika loves his rest, and it would be awkward if you woke him."

"Mah, mah. Would I do that?"

XxXxX

Shikamaru wakes up in the morning to a panicked guard and a black-inked eye.

At least it's obvious how easily last night's messenger could have just killed him, had he wanted, so sneaking out for this meeting should be safe. Really, his Dai Li need to learn to think more logically.

XxXxX

The Dai Li watch anxiously as their honored Regent Prince Shi-Kang calmly sits down with a woman they thought impossible – not because she fights, but because she is  _more terrifying than the Dragon of the West._

 

To all appearances, the two don't even try to negotiate or even intimidate each other. They chat amiably, as if they were old friends long familiar with the landscape of each other's minds.

 

"You've had much more training and practice than I, these past few years," Prince Shi-Kang says conversationally. "So the question is; was that enough for you to finally catch up?"

"Doubtful. But you forget the field favors myself and my preferred strategies," General Kazuko murmurs, unconcerned about challenging her opponent's assertions of natural superiority..

"It feels generous to call your short-sided tactics 'strategies.'"

It doesn't feel like an insult as it rolls off the Earth Regent's tongue; General Kazuko doesn't react like it was either.

"No, no, I call my short-term tactics, 'tactics.' My  _strategy_ is usually called some synonym for 'adaptability.' Better that than to be stuck on a path from planning too far ahead, especially with my luck."

Prince Shi-Kang snorts, Kazuko's lips twitch into a small smile, and the strange, well-worn banter between two antagonistic strangers continues, uninterrupted by the arrival of the called-for Pai Sho board.

The two royals don't look at each other as they prepare their pieces. Instead of each beginning with a full set of playable tiles, they dump  _seven_  whole sets together in a communal pile, and begin picking pieces out, seemingly at random. When they sit back, ready to begin play, the General's pile is easily four times the size of the Regent's, but he does not protest the disadvantage.

A cold knot settles in Agent Quan's stomach. An inkling of speculation as to what the two royals were doing had begun tickling at the back of his mind, but if he's right, and the size of those two piles is right…

Ba Sing Se is almost unfathomably large, but it is still just a single city. Is that really how much of the world the Fire Nation can pull on by this point?

If the Royals notice the growing unease of their multiracial audience – it doesn't loosen the knot in Quan's gut, that General Kazuko's entourage seems as off-kilter about this as the Dai Li are, but it sure does give a coil of smug satisfaction – they don't show it. Their full attention is on the game, now; even their earlier banter as petered off, except for occasional comments on their opponents' moves.

"Ah, if you have time to do that," The General muses after a particularly clever gambit with his Lotus tile. "Then I have time for this."

Quan had wanted to believe her words meant only that she found Prince Shi-Kang to be playing slowly. Those hopes are dashed as she follows his seconds-long maneuver by taking her time rummaging through the pile of left over communal pieces, finally placing three of them on the board in a distinctly illegal move in any format of Pai Sho Quan is familiar with, and Quan knows  _many_ forms of Pai Sho.

Prince Shi-Kang frowns and closes his eyes. His next move takes significantly longer than any of the previous ones. At the end of a thirty second pause, Shi-Kang's eyes pop open with a look of resolve, and he moves a piece.

Hands fly across the board as both royals make move after move without hesitation, or even any seeming surprise at the other's plays. Every now and then, General Kazuko leans over, pulling more pieces from the pile to put on the board or into her reserves.

Shi-Kang tries to do the same, once. When he tries to put the piece on the board, though, the General stops him.

"Uh-uh." She points to one of her pieces.

"Perhaps." Shi-Kang acknowledges the obstacle, and General Kazuko's faith in it. "But surely, at least…" He returns his chosen piece to the pile, pulling out two different ones.

The General considers his alternative for the moment. "Hm. That's reasonable. Play them."

The game resumes, and a few moves later Quan notices his Regent's lip quirk down, just for an instant. General Kazuko caught it too.

"What is it?" she asks warily.

"You'll see. I'm sorry."

Two dozen moves later, Quan and everyone else in the room can see too. Shi-Kang, through vicious maneuvering, has removed one of General Kazuko's higher-ranking pieces from the game. It's not a crippling blow. It's not even really a serious blow, given the immense resources she has at her disposal, but she still recoils.

"How  _could you?_ " Quan can almost  _feel_ the hurt in Kazuko's words.

Shi-Kang's eyes are pained, but he doesn't not back down. "These are  _my people._ I will do what I must.  _I will not abandon my comrades._ Even for yours _."_

Kazuko nods, hurt still evident in her eyes. There's no anger there, though. "What cruel lives we lead."

"Indeed."

An hour later, the board is filled, the communal pile is nearly empty, the casualty pile is massive, and Kazuko has just placed the winning piece.

If someone had ever tried to convince Quan a war could be won on a game board, Quan probably would have disappeared them for obviously dangerous levels of insanity. And yet, after watching this game for the past few hours, every bone of denial in his body is not enough to shake the absolute conviction in Quan's mind that this  _will_ be the outcome, should the siege, should the  _war_ continue.

Quan stares, dully, at the pile of removed pieces, and the lives that will be  _wasted,_ only for Ba Sing Se to fall, and dreads what Earth Regent Prince Shi-Kang is going to have to do.

"So," She says.

"So," Shi-Kang replies. After a moment, he adds, "Why?"

Kazuko leans back in her seat, staring at the ceiling.

"Only the Fire Lord, can stop the war. My father will not. My elder brother may, but not soon enough, not before Ozai makes his move. And Ozai. Will. Not. Stop. Not with Sozin's Comet, a guarantee of our victory, pyrrhic or no, returning in less than ten years."

"Then challenge Azulon to a damn Agni Kai! Why escalate the war, Kako?"

"Because if I do so before I am confirmed as heir, there will be blood to pay. The Fire Nation will tear itself apart in a civil war as people rally behind anyone they feel is the 'true' heir to the throne. And anyone that survives  _that_ will be destroyed when you and your allies swoop in to take vengeance on my weakened people.  _My people,_ Shika!"

Her voice drops to conversational levels, anger turned to resignation. "I'm a Firebending prodigy, and well liked. There are already calls for the order of secession to be reconsidered. But Iroh is strong enough, and well-liked enough,  _and_ a military genius. So, I must make my worth clear through a military coup de gras. I must take Ba Sing Se."

"Why can't you just challenge Iroh to a damn Agni Kai  _first_ , then? Just. Certainly you don't have to perpetuate  _this_."

For the first time since the end of the game, Kazuko looks directly at Shi-Kang. "To become heir, such a duel must be to the death."

"He's  _The Dragon of the West."_

 

Kazuko's eyes are downcast and her reply to that assertion is almost too soft for Quan to hear. "Iwa once called Shikako Nara The Shikabane-hime _._ They said it that with fear, too."

Prince Shi-Kang sighs. Whatever that meant, it seems clear to Quan that he, at least, has understood her point, and has no counter for it. Kazuko reaches her hand out, and Shi-Kang lets her take his with it.

"Whatever you might want to think, there are good parts of my family. My eldest brother, my sister-in-law, my niece, and my nephews. We're not all monsters. Not yet. And they don't have to be. I love them, and you know I have never been strong enough to sacrifice my family. Not for your people. Not even for mine."

Shi-Kang nods.

" _So_ ," General Kazuko says again. "Knowing what is and is not on the table, will Ba Sing Se surrender to me,  _Earth Regent Shi-Kang_?"

Prince Shi-Kang closes his eyes at her words, and, finally, bows his head.

"Earth knows, better than any element, when to attack, when to retreat, and when to  _do nothing._ Ba Sing Se is yours,  _Crown Princess Kazuko_. _"_

Three days later, Ba Sing Se is renamed Azulon City. A letter petitioning for a change in the order of succession is sent to the Fire Nation, carried by the swiftest firehawk in the Army.

Three years later, the war is long over. Kuei and Lu Ten peacefully take up their respective thrones, vowing to uphold the peace, washing away tension between their peoples by removing all the old blood from the upper levels of their government.

Kazo and Shika, finally freed from the shackles of power they never wanted, meet up in one of the former Fire Nation Colonies – now the United Republic – to play Pai Sho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A discussion between myself and Donhermurphy about the previous two chapters and possible AU's with Zuko and Azula and so on happens starting here, for those who are interested:
> 
> www.fanfiction.net/topic/180237/140553015/127/DoS-Crossover-Plotting#1154219465


	10. Harry Potter: Squib!Shikako Word Vomit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly assumes you know Iris Potter from The Slytherin chapters here, but like, not in canon with it at all:
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15116240/chapters/35049782
> 
>  
> 
> Original Forum Notes:
> 
> Lol, I started thinking about this the other day/typing this up this morning, so thanks for keeping that alive. Hypersensativity is interesting (though I can't get behind any of the Snape stuff) but I had some word vomit-y thoughts about squib!Kako, even though I got tired at the end and left it at the first decent place. I just thought I'd share...

So, on the subject of squib!Shikako.

Imagine the Potter twins, and the unusual things that happen to them when pressed - escaping bullies, hair growing back, the time a big bully tried to kick Iris and split his pants. Iris remembers what accidental magic is, knows how to feel for it, just like she learned chakra... and realizes she hasn't done any of it. Every incident was all Harry. Shikako sits up late one night, watching her kind, generous, doomed-to-suffer brother sleep in the thin crack of moolight the stair door allows... and starts to plan.

She secretly starts to train her body again – and Harry's, when they can get privacy. She practices her slight of hand, she steals and reads books on muggle magic tricks, she practices and prepares and learns how to improvise and misdirect and be the showman she always hated – it's far too close to public speaking.

When they're nearly eleven, the Dursleys burn a hoard of letters for "Mr. Potter," but Iris is practiced enough to pocket one before they do. She shares it with Harry that night, in their new room with Dudley's old toys, after some careful editing - like pocketing the letter, forging an "s" out of an "r" is well within her capabilities.

"This one's for me - 'Ms. Potter' - but the one you picked up was for you! It must have said the same thing!"

She's enthusiastic enough that Harry can't help but believe her, no disbelief about magic required. When they get dragged away to the shack, and Hagrid shows up, there's no surprise at his revelation.

"Ah, we guessed from Iris' letter," they explain sheepily, though they assure Hagrid they are glad that he came to give them Harry's letter - they really are grateful, and they do need him, and the cake was just too sweet.

"Ah, ya two are clever like yer mum," Hagrid rumbles, and the twins blush.

Iris is not entirely unsurprised when none of Ollivander's wands react to her. But, they don't react to Harry either, until the holly-and-phoenix feather wand, so her difficulties are unremarked upon. Finally, she straight up asks what wood and core combinations he has. The "Bamboo-and-Qilin-Antler Dust" he imported from one of his contacts in Asia for 'difficult customers' is just too perfect. She professes a feeling of warmth and contentment, and he declares that the wand has chosen.

When they return to Privet Drive (not 'home') that evening, she tells Harry the truth.

I don't think I have magic.

She explains that she lied about the letter, about the wand, and that she's sorry for not telling him, but she wasn't sure until now, and she just didn't want to be left out, left  _alone_ with the Dursleys, while he goes off to lean about a whole new world.

Harry doesn't have a vengeful bone in his body (yet). He's not mad, he doesn't want to leave her either, and he would never want to leave her subjected to the Durseleys, alone, and without even the small protections he now knows his magic has provided them. (He doesn't think her weak, of course – he knows she could kick his ass, if she wanted, but… she's his  _sister._ He can't leave her without trying to help.)

He gets on board with the plan.

Iris insisted on buying extra books on their new world and history before they left Diagon Ally, so they're well prepared (Vernon may have locked their things away, but Iris is stealthy as a cat, and great at picking locks) for their new world and the charade they will have to maintain. They still accept the Weasley's help getting to the train. (I can't  _believe_ that wasn't in one of the books! I hope we haven't missed anything else too obvious.)

Ron is nice enough, and Iris is so glad she hadn't accidentally ruined  _that_ friendship – already, the boys are getting along swimmingly. To save herself form talk of quidditch, Iris goes with Neville to find Trevor, averting the entire incident of Hermione's initial bossiness, and giving both future Gryffindors a reason to come sit in their carriage after they find the silly toad in a cabin of shrieking second-year girls.

In this world, Harry can't feel even a bit of disdain for Neville, despite the boy's assertions of his poor magical skills. Not when he knows his sister will be even 'worse.' His offense on Neville's behalf that his family tried to 'scare the squib out of him' – not to mention the wake up call of what Iris risks upon discovery - quickly seeds outrage the rest of the carriage. By the end of it all, Neville is feeling more than a little bit warm in his gut at these children coming to his defense. Iris lets this turn into a debate on the magical world and views on blood status, and it actually becomes an interesting discussion, what with everyone coming from such different backgrounds.

Fighting a mountain troll may be a good way to make friends, but learning from and teasing each other over a pile of sweets isn't so bad either.

McGonagall does not do a double-take when she sees Iris, so she must have been expected – does no one actually double check these magical records? – and then only last great hurdle remains. Either Iris will be exposed by the Sorting Hat, or she'll make it through, and be able to start putting her plans into action.

Neville is a little unsure about being put into Gryffindor, but the Weasley twins make space for their brother's new friend, whom they had heard pulled  _quite_ the prank by releasing his pet toad on a hoard of stuck-up girls on the train. Hermione happily joins him, though the Hat does consider Ravenclaw, briefly, before he sees whom she has made friends with.

Harry gives Iris' hand a big squeeze before he's called up. The hat puts him in Gryffindor, and Iris' last fears of ruining Harry's place are gone.

And then, it's her turn.

_I thought your brother's thoughst prepared me for you, Ms. Potter. I'm not sure I've ever been so wrong. But who am I to out such a lost soul? I see you only want what's best for your loved ones. Your presence will improve Hogwarts, not damage it, so you belong here. But where? You're cunning enough to reach beyond your destiny, clever enough to make it this far, loyal enough to even try to begin with. But those Houses aren't where you'll flourish this time, are they? Better stay with your brother and your friends in GRYFFINDOR._

That night, Hermione calls a goodnight as they tuck themselves into their new dormitory. Iris returns the favor, though her mind is busy as she sinks into bed.

Already, things are changing. Her plans will have to change too, though, for the better, for once. Iris had planned on being a loner; their new friends will surely figure her out. But Iris doesn't think they'll expose her. And really, this will all be so much easier with four accomplices, rather than one.

If her father and their friends could become animagi to help their werewolf friend, certainly these new Gryffindors can fake a little magic?


	11. Harry Potter: Marauders Era Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James' Twin/Regulus' Twin word vomits/musings.

**James' Twin**

Was just thinking about Harry Potter and this scene popped into my head:

So, Shikako gets reborn as James' sister. Marauders era is mostly normal, since she doesn't have any special knowledge to work with, though she probably makes sure James is less of a prat/bully, so maybe Lily and James get together earlier than in canon, but who knows.

Anyways, she knows Peter could eventually be a (figurative) rat, but, how can she blame this soft, sad, eleven year old boy for sins he  _might_ one day commit. So she tries to be friendly and stroke his loyalty and bravery, but doesn't move against him. That doesn't mean she leaves the fate of her brother, nephew, and friends in his hands.

So, it's time for the Potters to go into hiding, right? Sirius immediately volunteers as secret keeper, but before James can agree, Shikako slides into to suggest they prank Voldemort. The inner circle of the order will know the Sirius is the secret keeper, in case there's any spies. They'll spin this big tale about where Sirius is going to be, and lay a trap for voldemort and/or whatever followers might come for the secret keeper. Meanwhile, Sirius will be somewhere else as the second layer of decoy ("not where he's supposed to be") and all the while, Shikako will be the real secret keeper. This is about when Peter barges in, to offer his services, and Shikako happily says, "We're way ahead of you" and fills him in on the entire plan - sans Sirius's real hiding spot.

She gives an offhand hint to where she'll be hiding as they all head out that night, and  _that's_ the information Peter brings to Voldemort.

Shikako's alone, and prepared, when they come. She wasn't sure if it would be death eaters or voldemort himself that would come for her (it's the latter) but she puts up enough of a fight when they come to make ti look real. They snap her wand and drag her before voldermort. This is nothing less than she expected.

She has back ups, in case she fails - a cyanide pill tucked behind her teeth, her mind shielded from legilimancy by vicious memories of tsukuyomi. But she won't fail. The death eaters are so focused on magic, they don't think to check for the poison on her lips, the gun at her inner thigh, the knives in her boots and at her wrists, or even the diamond blade wire in her braid, because you never know when you might need that to choke someone.

Voldemort never sees it coming. And, technically, the prophecy of his downfall did, technically, ensure his demise.

 

XxXxX

**Regulus' Twin**

I have a LOT of feelings about about Black!Shikako. I think Riga as her name? It's close to 'Rigal' like adgenelia says, but it's also a bastardization of 'Mriga,' the deer constellation (sometimes called the 'baby deer' constellation, which is TOTALLY Sirius' nickname for her) that goes with Orion.

\---

Like, consider tiny!Riga befriending Kreacher, and teaching him that he has self-worth and doesn't deserve abuse and extending that in a way to counteract her parents' prejudices. Think about her bullying her brothers into being nice (maybe Regulus already was - we know he is eventually, but who knows how early that started. Probably not as early as Shikako, since Regulus is an ACTUAL child and problem patterns himself off of his parents, at first).

Or Sirius bearhugging the life out of his baby sister and cooing over her and James making fun of him for all of about 3 seconds before girls show up and are charmed by Sirius 'being so sweet and affectionate with his little sister!' Then there's a brief scuffle ("She's my sister, get your own!" "Just let me borrow her for a second, Evans is coming!") before Lily shows up, hexes them both, then escorts, "You poor little thing, getting bullied by these big mean boys. Let me take you back you your house!" Lily and Riga snicker over this. Riga actually quite looks up to her, even though she explains she can't publicly befriend a muggleborn, no matter how amazing, without putting a target on Regulus' back, but she hopes to get him free of that soon so she can outwardly stand against bigotry with Lily.

And the constant dance between loving Sirius, and being loved by Sirius, and having Opinions about blood supremacy, and needing to fit in somewhat so she can be safe/work from the inside/maintain the power she needs to protect Reggie. So, sometimes having to (publicly) reject things she cares about, or Sirius having to tone down his affection as they get older, but not wanting to.

If things still go down like at the beginning of canon, Riga fights tooth and nailt o get Sirius a trial. Possibly, the death eaters think she's on 'their' side, since she's now the matriarch of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, so Malfoy and the like use their political pressure to help get one of their 'death eater allies' out of Azkaban... only for it to come out in the trial that he was always good and that Pettigrew is to blame - and still at large. Riga gets her brother, but also seems innocent for her assumptions, maintaining her link to snitch on the death eaters for a few more years, until she tosses that political capital to help out Sirius, Remus, and baby Harry.


	12. Star Wars: Clone Wars Shinobi Word Vomits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some word vomits on how the Elemental Nations could get sweeped up in the clone wars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here:
> 
> https://www.fanfiction.net/topic/180237/140553015/122/DoS-Crossover-Plotting#153239610

Has anyone read Vathara's Rurouni Kenshin/Star Wars fusion? I take a little inspiration from that. Basically, Elemental nations are either a planet or a system that's fairly far out of the way, and relatively newly contacted. Like, maybe they don't even have a Senator yet. Anyways, prior to the war, it wasn't worth it enough to pay much attention to these guys; they're not 'Official' like Jedi, and laws made it a pain to hire them for most of the stuff their skill set would be good for, compared to their price, and the Ninja vilalge are naturally distrustful and closed off anyways; they don't exactly promote interaction with other planets. Basically, they're known as those powerful, violent people over in the corner of the galaxy that it's not really worth contacting in such a peaceful era.

That is, until the galaxy is torn apart by war, and even the Jedi are stretched past the breaking point. Now, suddenly, both sides are being courted to come command/reinforce their armies. (Supposedly, these were about 10k jedi. Well, the allied Shinobi forces numbered more than 100k. That is WORTH, for both sides. Plus, personally, I'm a sucker for the Clones, so I really want to involve them.) So, the Konoha/Suna/Mist alliance, at least, gets hired out to lead some Republic armies.

So, maybe Team Seven/other members of the rookie nine are brought in as a strike team ("The OH SHIT Squad"), which is fine, but what I'd really like is for Shikako, with her Special Jounin-ship, which I would think would be equivalent to at least Jedi Knight, be put up as a general, maybe with Naruto and Sasuke has her commanders. So the clones under her are a little embarassed/worried/peeved to be taking orders from a/several teens and pre-teens, but it's not like they're going to question it. But then they get to see her  _fight._ And they go from, "Haha, the 707th division, their general's  _thirteen"_ to "Oh my god, the 707th is led by the Shikabane-hime herself!"

I love the idea of Shikako wowing the hell out of them and pulling them through awful situations physically and emotionally and her just being their rock. I love the idea that the clones, who know they are expendable, freely give her every ounce of their loyalty, above and beyond their programming, because Shikako will go back for them, beyond any reasonable measure, and because she treats them like people, like comrades, like Brothers and  _she will not leave you behind._ I just. I need Shikako/clone interactions, because Shikako's awesomeness/loyalty/networking skills/teaching ability/caring will fix  _so many things._

I also enjoy the idea that there are some angsty mistranslations, especially at first, especially with out ever-so-tragic clones. Like, One of the clone captains is reporting to her that they're about to enter a mine field, and Shikako's mostly focusing on a report or a seal or something, and she just says, "We need to keep moving. Have some clones walk through the field so everything detonates before the main forces follow." And the captain, like, swallows and his horrified that his new general thinks that his brothers' lives are more expendable than spending a couple extra hours clearing things safely, but he's new and not one to argue. He grabs the men that are most injured, the most likely not to make it out of this anyways, because that's the best he can do; give the remainder the best chance at survival. They understand.

Just after they're done spreading out to best cover the mine field, the first explosion goes off... and the dust settles to find not a Brother's smoldering remains, but his prone, intact form, living shadows pouring off of him and reforming into a very angry General Nara. "What the  _hell_ are you  _doing?_ " Shikako's practically vibrating in anger and then self-loathing as she understands what went wrong (how obedient her new men are, maybe worse than Root, in their own way). Finally, she snaps at Naruto to do a mass shadow clone jutsu and has them run through the field, exploding the mins and harmlessly poofing, as she tried to express to her new men what she meant and that she would  _never_ sacrifice their lives like that, and that they're worth something and that they should feel free to challenge her if they disagree with something.

I'd also hope, eventually that Ino and/or Sakura would be able to figure out/help with the chips for Order 66, so massive swaths of the army  _don't_ turn on the Jedi, and the day is saved because Shikako remembers all-too-well the disappointing Star Wars prequels and maybe the pretty good TV show they spawned..

There's loads of other stuff to play with, too. Some jounin or even a Kage having to go play ambassador with the Senate. Jounin bodyguards freaking everyone out. Padme and her peacefulness having to deal with a whole group of people for whom violence is a way of life... and yet they're oddly more compassionate and caring and righteous than many of the 'peaceful' worlds in the greedy senate. The Jedi sensing the 'darkness' in Gaara and Naruto (and/or Sasuke, depending on how you want to play with chakra types versus the force) and the ninja having to protect their own against suspicion. Kenobi thinking he's finally getting someone stoic to back him up against Anakin and Ahsoka's recklessness... only to find out the Shinobi may be quiet and deadly when need be, but this 'Hatake Kakahi' fellow is weird as heck when the stakes are low and reckless as heck when the stakes are high and  _he has a bad feeling about alllllll of this..._

XxXxX

I think Team Seven would get along best with Anakin out of all the jedi. Anakin's the only one, except maybe Kenobi, who will go out of his way to protect his people. I mean, look at the geonosis; Luminara and Bariss both accept the Bariss and Ahsoka are dead/dying/"oh, too bad there's nothing to be done it's the will of the force." Anakin - the the displeasure of other jedi - may get a little reckless, but mostly he was just pushing forward, 'we have to try.' Team Seven would be allll about that.

XxXxX

I'm now just picturing Kakakshi just sending Shikako in to take care of it, a la the gelel fortress thing or the moon kingdom castle. So the soldiers and jedi are kinda anxious as the boys are just, chilling, waitingaround waiting for Shikako to take care of things, and then, just. Explosions. So many explosions. And Shikako comes back and is like, "Oh, I ran into X, Y, and Z complications, but compared to normal missions, that was nothing." (Possibly even, "Um, hey, is some guy named Grievous important? I ran into him and wasn't able to take prisoners. I hope it's okay that he's dead now.") And everyone not on team seven are just like, "Taking that factory down would have taken countless lives and ships, how did this one little girl do it in just a couple hours, on her own? Holy crap this is why it's a king's ransom to get them off their own planet, what have we juat unleashed?"

Anakin's just annoyed he didn't get to fight anything. Shikako makes it up to him by being his sparring partner.

XxXxX

Additional thought- anbu function a lot like clone troopers. Nameless, stoic, and obedient when on the job. During downtime, when masks/helmets get to come off, though... Man, I'd like to see the 180 in perspective when the Jedi/clones see anbu squad Hound off-duty. Also, when they realize Shikako is a girl. Lol.

XxXxX

So, the clones aren't really that much like Root. They very much have their own personalities and are their own, real people... if said people had been forced through the aging process at double speed, literally programmed to follow orders and be loyal to their leaders/creators, brainwashed into a military cult, and treated as slaves/disposable pieces of property if said property is defective (read: too injured) or disobedient. Okay, I guess they're sorta like Root. But they definitely don't want to be.

Some are more independent and 'disobedient' than others - Anakin and Obi Wan are friends with their respective commander and captain, and since they're both loos canons, they don't mind their subordinates being independent and pushing back against bad ideas as much as some of the other generals. So, the 501st and the 212th and Sai might bond over learning to be/be treated as real people instead of numbers. (The clones are raised on numbers, but as they grow more independent, they name themselves or get names from their brothers.) Some of the other clones... they'd probably more identify/appreciate Sai's apparent/complete loyalty. The Shinies (new clones fresh from training) are probably most like Sai when Sai got stuck with Naruto and Shikako. "X is protocol, why are you following your gut instead?"

XxXxX

Ah. I have many thoughts on this. I'll cut it there, for now though.


	13. Star Wars: Skywalker!Shikako Word Vomits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikako as Anakin's Twin, Daughter, and Jedi Friend.

**Anakin's Twin**  
  
So, I realized that, although we've had a bunch of Star Wars crossovers here, no one ever did the obvious/typical thing and make Shikako Anakin's twin. Like, that would solve so many problems, right? Except the more I thought about it, the more I realized it wouldn't. It would make things so, soooo much worse.

Like, lets just assume that for reasons, both Anakin and Shmikako (Sorry, couldn't resist. It's just so perfectly SILLY. We're not going with that, though.) met the jedi and piqued Qui Gon's interest. So he takes them both (and they're such naturals! The boy has more power, the girl more finesse, but they've figured out how to use the force in a number of ways with seemingly no training. And they've invented new things! Who knew the force could be used to walk on walls like that!) back to be jedi. Yada yada, Naboo gets freed, Qui Gon may or may not die, and the twins get to be jedi.

Except Anakin was basically already an Uchiha when it comes to loving his loved ones, and Shikako's not much better, and they're close, and she reinforced that by basically instilling the Will of Fire and "take care of your precious people no matter what" deep into his psyche. But the Jedi don't like attachments, and it seems rare that they let family members interact with each other. Anakin did...  _okay_ in canon. He had to leave his mom, but that was seen as a mutual sacrifice for his own future. In this case, getting separated from his twin feels wholly arbitrary - these jedi are trying to take his sister away!

There's a million ways this could go - Shikako doesn't like Palpatine, so Anakin's wary there, but the Jedi kinda grind against her ideals to, so she agrees with Anakin's dislike, so who knows what side they end up on - but I just can't see most of them ending particularly well, unless the two run away from the Order.

Like, I'm just saying. Imagine the first time Anakin has a nightmare. Shikako sneaks over to see him, because the Force helped her know that her brother was upset. When the older Jedi find them, not only to they drag her away, but she is  _punished,_ and there are promises to separate them more thoroughly, and all Anakin can think is no, no  _no!_ This is  _wrong!_

Anakin will never, ever, not resent the Order from that point on, and 'powerful boy with a grudge' is  _not_ what you want as the enemy to the Galactic Order.

 

XxXxX

**Prompt: Shikako as Vader's third daughter, found before Luke and offered to take over the Empire with him**

She totally would too, since I think her main reluctance to be any kind of leader (besides the work involved) is "I don't want to be responsible for putting my friends in danger/their deaths." As Empress, I think she would know she was greatly reducing the death toll (saving Alderaan alone would be huge) and any deaths from her policy decisions or whatever would probably be fairly removed.

And she'd actually be a pretty good candidate for Empress if something 'happened' to the Emperor.

Except for certain ambitious Moffs that know they're not in her favor, I think the military will mostly support her, because Vader does and they're terrified of him (plus, I think she'd actually end up in the Military for a bit, starting as "Vader's Aide" or something but basically working her way up to her own command very quickly. Everyone thinks it's just nepotism at first, and they're partially right, but then she's actually really brilliant? And a good leader? And she can talk to Vader without anyone getting killed? And the people under her command and anyone else that works with her - and especially anyone that works under Vader - actually grows to like her, so when she's slotted in as their new supreme ruler, they're  _super_ loyal to her).

And she'd totally 'shove off her work' onto the senate (It's not a lie, she really doesn't want to do all the arguing and policy making - she wants out of that except when it's important/she has strong feelings about something) which gets a lot of support from that side of the political spectrum. A lot of senators are willing to work with or even settle for an Empress that is willing to allow them to have some of their power back.

She has a good head for how to improve the economic and social status of loads of people without disrupting things too much. (I.E. they don't really need a military and loads of resources are being wasted on weapons like the death star, but she can't shut them down entirely without a revolt from so many people losing their livelihoods, so she simply.... repurposes them instead.) So, she uses the military's muscle to, say, end slavery, deal with crime, and gain control of the Outer Rim rather than terrorize citizens, and use all the engineers kinda like the Army Corps of Engineers, making them work on like, infrastructure and research projects. This lessens the appeal of the Rebellion, because she's making life better (and wealthier) for a bunch of systems that had been losing people and resources to secret weapons, while removing a lot of the nastiness that made people fight back to begin with. Perhaps there's even scientists like Galen Erso who were sabotaging things that are instead perfectly happy to design a nice water reclamation system so the people on this desert planet don't all die of dehydration because water imports are so expensive.

A lot of the Hands were fanatically loyal to the Emperor, but she's dealt with Danzou and Root, she can deal with them. And everyone she breaks free is also super loyal to her. Between them and Vader, assassination attempts are just. Never gonna work. (Maybe this is one of the worlds where lots of Naruto characters got reborn, and she has to save Sai all over again.)

I like to think this is the world I proposed once, where she was born a couple years before Luke and Leia, so everyone knows she's Padme Amidala's daughter and they can just like. Totally see it. Maybe, once she's proven she can live up to a decent facsimile of her mother, Naboo is willing to accept her back. Perhaps she even gets handmaidens, or at least gets back in touch with the handmaidens that definitely helped raise her when she was very little, while Padme was still a senator.

But anyways. So she gets her Empire in decent shape. Her position is secure. Does she reach out and rock the worlds of the siblings she never got to know?

(I'm thinking she probably would reach out to Luke at least, if she could get Anakin far enough away from the Dark Side to trust his ability to accept him/not go after Obi Wan if the man was near.)

XxXxX

**Jedi**

I love these different ways Kako could be integrated! It reminds me of this idea I had the other day, reading this tumblr post ( math-is-magic. tumblr. com/post/161097856820/doctorwithafryingpan ) and it made me think of Shikako being some kind of Jedi (well known, no doubt, maybe Anakin's sister, like I had thrown out that one time, maybe just a rando war hero) during Order 66. And either she ends up escaping her clone troopers and uses her knowledge of troop positions and master/padawan bonds to track down the few padawans who escaped because their masters protected them (like Caleb/Kanaan) and take them into hiding/take care of them and just generally it would be sad and cute. Or she's on break at the temple when they come to destroy it, and she gets the creche evacuated, at least partially, so she suddenly has these dozen small children that she's responsible for. I dunno. I just loved the feels of Obi Wan reaching out to do the little he could for the jedi children, and thinking, "Shikako could do even more."

(This is also how she accidentally and nearly single-handedly raises the main players in the Rebellion and the New Jedi Order. Bonus if she takes the kids to tatooine for the same reasons Obi Wan went there, and an awkward reunion happens.)


	14. Twilight: OnlySaneMan!Shikako Word Vomit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikako as Bella's um, less naive twin.

Shikako is DEFINITELY the only sane man. Okay, I'mma word vomit on this, because I have thoughts, but ZERO desire to actually fic it.

Bella is definitely a lot different. She has Responsible Twin Elaine (because ya gotta keep both sets of theme naming - "deer girl" and Isabella/Elaine both being, like, old people names) to take some of the pressure off and make her less of a mini adult, but who is also adventurous enough to make Bella try things - in a more controlled manner than their mother does. Elaine and Bella both decide to go to Forks when their mom remarries, but Elaine makes an effort to be excited about it instead of resigned, and that makes Bella a lot less morose about it too.

Elaine understands Charlie a lot better than Bella ever did, which helps ease the awkward interactions between the three and makes both girls much closer to their father than Bella was in canon. For example, Elaine understands that Charlie shows his affection through action (painting the cabinets yellow for renee (wow, that random detail just came back to me. That was a thing, right?), buying them a truck that's safe and durable and functional, getting up early to put snow chains on said tires after an overnight frost, etc.) and has had  _years_ of practice with social awkward people/shit conversationalists, so Elaine is able to actually keep a conversation going between the three. Just. All around better social bonds between the three, and much less resentment about being in Forks.

Elaine's a networker like Shikako, so she's better at helping Bella make friends, so that her relationships aren't just, "these people talk to me because I'm the new girl, I'm a shit friend to them in my head and my actions." Great. Home, school, and social life are way less sucky all around. (There's no depressive episodes over a break up  _here,_ because there's actually other people Bella cares about, and people who care about her and actually know how to help her in return.)

Then come the Cullens.

And  _who_ does this  _asshole_ think he is, sending death glares at Elaine's sister, when they've never even met? Elaine glares him down the rest of class.

(Edward gets mumbles form Charlie's head, and nothing from Bella's, but he  _knows_ he's touching Elaine's thoughts... they just keep slipping through his mental fingers, like trying to catch a shadow.)

Also, a couple headcanons that I can't remember if they're canon or fanon;

1) vampires have, basically, love-at-first-sight soulmates, and humans can sometimes feel a little bit of that pull, hence Edwards obsessions and Bella falling in love with him so fast, and them both being ruined by being apart. So, Elaine's influence doesn't stop them getting together, but her logic and twin vettings gets them to calm way the hell down on the creepy/controlling/abusive aspects of the relationship, or else she will forcibly separate them, if she has to, because unlike Charlie, she shares a room and secrets with Bella, so she knows  _exactly_ how far Edward has/would go.

2) Vampirism enhances everything about the human, hence the speed and strength, but vampires with extra abilities are due to them already being humans with slightly supernatural abilities - Bella's thoughts can't be read, Jasper was super charismatic, Alice was having visions that put her in the mental asylum, etc. Shikako is more special than the average human. Take that as you will.

Elaine gets along suuuuper well with most of the Cullen family, especially Alice, though sometimes she's with Bella in that she wants the pixie girl to calm down please. We are people, not your human play toys. The werewolves like her too, because she can totally take several of them in a fight.

(Everyone in Forks mostly thinks Elaine's the responsible one, since she's much more street smart about things than Bella, much less accident prone, and fairly capable of defending herself - thought she's also tried to teach Bella these things. Then Bella gets threatened, and they realize they are very, very wrong.)


End file.
